


Lady and The Tramps

by rosemusiclive



Category: Hat Films - Fandom, The Yogscast
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bands, F/M, M/M, More characters coming as they're mentioned!, Swearing, hatsounds band au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-13
Updated: 2015-11-16
Packaged: 2018-03-12 03:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3341861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosemusiclive/pseuds/rosemusiclive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bassist Nanosounds is left band-less after her award-winning indie rock group, Monster Hunters, splits up. With nothing to do but mope around and not pay her bills, Nano needs to sign with another band if she wants to continue her career in music.</p><p>Enter Hat Rack, the mish-mash-genre band whose bassist has just walked out on them for mysterious reasons. Stranded without a bass guitar player only months before their tour, they're desperately looking for someone to bring on board.</p><p>Worlds collide and Nano makes a choice. But has she signed up for more than she can handle?</p><p>Who are we kidding, she's fucked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fucking Veterinary School

**Author's Note:**

> Heavily based off Emma's brilliant hatsounds band au, check her out here: http://professorsparkletrash.tumblr.com/
> 
> Also pushed along by Boa's fabulous artwork: http://blithe-boa.tumblr.com/post/110743383729/even-more-sketch-doodles-for-the-band-au-its-a

_**Monster Hunters hunting different paths?** _

_**Critically acclaimed indie rock band has split up after second album tour.** _

_Fans of Monster Hunters, the award winning musical prodigy, are in peril this morning as lead singer Lomadia announced their break up over Twitter. Stating that it was due to ‘personal goal differences’ the star explained that the group simply did not want to be performers anymore. She then went on to express her delight over being accepted to Veterinary School, leaving us all to wonder where the other members of the band will end up._

It was front cover story, which was nice. The picture was an old one, before Nano had dyed her hair. There was Lomadia in the front, long blonde hair flowing in the artificial wind and brandishing her guitar like a weapon. She looked like a goddess. Honeydew to the left, laughing wide at something off camera. He was in his element, drum sticks in one hand and pen in the other, big bushy ginger beard looking majestic as fuck. And finally, on the right, Nanosounds. Bass strung over her back like a quiver, she had her arms crossed over her chest, showing off her tanned, vitiligo skin. Then-black hair shaved off on one side, she was looking at the back of Lomadia, a grin playing on her face. Look at them all, one big happy family.

Nano sighed and tossed the magazine to the side of her bed. Groaning, she lay back on the covers and rubbed her hands over her face. Veterinary School! Bloody Veterinary School! She should have seen it coming. Every magazine she had looked at had applauded Lom’s choice as much as she had, proud of her for going for her dream. 

Lead singer and guitarist Lomadia was off pursuing a veterinarian career. Songwriter and drummer Honeydew was selling his works to other artists instead of performing them himself. And where did that leave bassist Nanosounds? Apparently, flopping around on her bed like a confused eel trying to get over the fact that her two best friends didn’t want to be in a band with her anymore.

Not only that, but Lom, her long time crush, was moving away to Thailand to go to study at some special vet school. Thailand! That was like, a really long way away! Being demiromantic, it was really rare for Nano to get a crush. Falling for Lom had been like a punch in the face, especially as the tall blonde woman was aromantic, meaning there was no chance in hell she was going to date anyone, especially Nano.

Rolling onto her front, Nano considered letting herself suffocate in the pillows. Bloody veterinary school. Buzzing erupted from her bedside table, and Nano sullenly reached out to grab her phone. 

“What.” She growled into the receiver, not even caring who was calling her. The laughter that she got back in response to her shitty mood notified her to who she was speaking to, her agent.

“Veterinary School Lalna!” She cried, before he had even said anything.

“I know.” Her blonde friend said, fighting back giggles.

“In Thailand!” She continued, sighing woefully. He started laughing again.

“You suck.” She pouted.

“You’re just grumpy.” He said. Nano could hear the eye roll from her bedroom.

“You're right! I am grumpy! I’m the grumpiest grump that ever grumped!” She said dramatically, rolling onto her back again.

“Well cheer up! I’ve found someone to sign you.”

“Really?” Nano asked, her crappy mood fading slightly at the news.

“Yup, small Canadian record label I got in touch with through Xephos. They're a British indie-rock-electronic band looking for a bassist that can do backup vocals. Sounds like your kinda gig, no?”

“That sounds perfect Lalna, what’s the band called?”

“One of their members just dropped them so they're changing their name, reinventing their image or some bullshit.”

“Oh, really? What was their old name?”

“Um, I can't remember off the top of my head. It was a stupid name, like Coat Rail or something”

Nano laughed as she listened to Lalna type away at his computer. Presumably googling the band.

“Ah here we go.” He said. “Hat Rack. That was their name. Hat Rack.”

“And they want to sign me?” Nano asked, biting back a laugh. These people sounded amusing.

“Well their manager does at least. I've hooked you up for a meeting with them on Thursday.”

“Thursday? But that only gives me two days to wallow in self pity!”

“I know! It’s almost as if I want you to do something productive rather than sitting around eating discounted chocolate and moaning about Veterinary School.”

Nano took the phone away from her ear for a second to thoroughly flip it off. She put it back to her ear and cleared her throat.

“Yes, where was I?” She said. “Oh right. Fuck off.”

“Look, I know it’s sad and all, but you've gotta respect the others choices in this and move on with your life.”

“Lalna, stop being so serious, it doesn't suit you.”

“I’m your agent! I’m supposed to be serious.” He sighed. “That meeting is on Thursday at 1pm in the Globe Towers in Bristol. Ask for a guy called ‘Sips’ at the front desk. Go to it if you want, but thats the best opportunity you’re gonna get in a while and it would be pretty stupid to throw it away.”

Nano frowned as she heard the line go flat, he had hung up on her. She grumbled and put her phone back on her bedside table. 

Bandless. Loveless. Friendless. Nano sighed. Of course she respected Lom and Dew’s decisions, they were her best friends for God’s sake. But this new signing just felt like it was too soon. Was that stupid? Was she over reacting? Should she Skype Lom and ask her?

Yes, yes and definitely not, she decided, rolling out of bed and staggering towards her kitchen. It was soon, but she needed to get signed, and this gig sounded perfect for her. Sure, she was more of an indie folk person and electronic was a bit out of her comfort zone, but she was willing to learn. She could do this.

Nano kept repeating those words in her head over and over again until Thursday, standing at the front desk in Globe Towers at 1pm sharp. Fidgeting with impatience as she waited for the receptionist to get off the phone, Nano ran her hand over her left arm in nervousness, a habit she had picked up a long time ago. Eventually the receptionist put down the phone and looked up at her.

“Good afternoon, what can I do for you?” She smiled, her voice sickly sweet.

“Um, I’ve got a meeting with Sips?” Nano said, feeling slightly relieved when the receptionist seemed to recognise the name and typed something into the computer.

“Ah yes.” She said, smiling up at Nano. “Nanosounds at 1pm, his waiting room is on the seventh floor.”

“Thanks.” Nano smiled, turning towards the lift. Hitting the seventh floor button she realised that the receptionist had not given her a room number just as the lift doors closed. Shit. Well she'd just have to wander around until she found the right place then. Shouldn't be too hard.

She reached the seventh floor and the lift doors opened to reveal a small corridor, with only a single door at the end. Curious, she stepped out into the hallway, the lift doors closing behind her. Completely bare and smelling like air freshener, the corridor was odd. Walking towards the door at the end, Nano questioned the point of a hall at all if there was only one room.

Large and unlocked, the door opened into what looked like someone’s lounge. Cream sofas matched the beige carpet and were dotted around a massive gas fireplace, a coffee table in the centre. Wooden cabinets lined the white-painted left wall, filled with statues and plaques of some description, probably awards. On the right wall, pictures hung around another wooden door, this door was labelled ‘Sips’ Office’.

Raising an eyebrow, Nano wandered over to the pictures. They were group photos, people crowded around each other and grinning at the camera. Some held instruments, some didn't, but Nano could only assume that these were the bands that this guy ‘Sips’ had put together. 

Standing in front of the door to get a closer look at the large picture above it, she realised that there was one guy consistent throughout all of the pictures, standing in the middle of them with a goofy grin on his face and giving the camera a thumbs up. This must be Sips. She smiled, he looked nice. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Hearing an odd rattling sound, she looked down to see the handle of the door turning. Nano only had time to give out a short yelp before the door swung open and smacked her in the face.

The door hit her right in the nose and she landed on the carpeted floor with an ‘oof’. Groaning she bought her hands up to her face, she winced as she felt the warm blood of a nosebleed on her palms. Her face ached and she glared up at the door-opening culprit. 

Taking her by surprise, her scowl was met with one of equal intense anger. A stupidly tall green haired man was frowning down at her with malice. Freckles peppered his face and piercing dotted his ears. Arms exposed thanks to a baggy tank top and black jeans showing off his legs, Nano marvelled at the fact that this guy was scrawny as fuck and still sort of intimidating.

“Watch where you're standing, idiot.” He snarled, before stalking out of the room and into the corridor.

Nano raised her middle finger at his retreating form. What an arsehole. No apology. No helping her up. Only unexplained anger and a bloody nose. Grumbling under her breath about stupid inconsiderate men, she pulled herself up with the handle of the door. Blood continued to pour from her nose as she cupped her face, trying to stop the flow. Turning to walk into Sips’ office, she collided with a large, fast moving object that sent her staggering backwards.

Head spinning slightly at the impact, Nano frowned as the dark haired man that had run into her didn't even check to see if she was okay. He was shorter than the previous one, though not by much, and his build was a lot more muscular, as Nano could tell by the fact that all these people seemed to wear was tank tops.

“Smith!” The guy called out, looking around the room before following his friend’s footsteps into the hallway. Nano didn't even bother to flip this one off.

Keeping on her guard for any more tall asshats, Nano walked towards the door and into Sips’ office. Styled the same way as the rest of the seventh floor, with white walls and beige carpets, the office was very clean and modern. More pictures lined the walls, and several gold plated awards hung above the wooden desk. Taking up most of the room were four steel chairs were positioned around the desk, one of the chairs was occupied by a guy, and behind the desk sat Sips himself.

The guy in the chair looked at her wearily, and raised an eyebrow at her bloody nose. He was tanned, but he didn't have the same Asian skin she had. By his features she would have guessed Hawaiian, but based on his dark brown braided hair and the shape of his eyes, but that probably wasn't right either. It didn't really matter anyway. Despite the fact that he was sitting down, she could tell he was a fair bit shorter than the other two. Calmer as well, judging by the way he sighed at her.

“Did you run into a wall or something?” He asked, his voice an unexpected low tone.

“If a wall is two tall arseholes, then they ran into _me_.” She said, frowning at his expressionless face.

“Sounds like my mates. I'll go and get them.” The guy said, standing up.

“Wait a moment.” Nano growled, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “You're idiot friends gave me a nosebleed and didn't even apologise!”

“Yeah well, get a tissue or something.” The guy said, gesturing towards the box of Kleenex on the desk as he walked past her. Nano glared at his uncaring attitude.

“Hey!” She called, following after him in an attempt to give him a piece of her mind. She was halted in her tracks by the guy slamming Sips’ office door shut behind him, which subsequently smacked into her nose a second time and earned her yet another yelp in pain. Fuming with anger and clutching her blood covered nose, she turned back to Sips, who was smiling sheepishly from behind his desk.

“Would you like a tissue?” He asked, Canadian accent failing to hide his amusement. Nano glowered silently as she sat down and ripped some tissues from the box, dabbing her nose with them gently.

“You must be the bassist, Nanosounds.” Sips said, Nano nodded as she cleaned herself up.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“And you’re here to sign with the British indie-rock-electronic band.”

“Yeah, when are they getting here?” 

Sips sent her a look of despair and Nano turned as she heard heard the door open behind them. In tumbled the three arseholes, each wearing a grumpy expression. Nano whipped her head back round to Sips, who was looking like he’d just kicked her puppy.

“Nanosounds, this is Hat Rack.” Sips said, gesturing to the three lads who had taken a seat next to her.

“Not anymore.” The tanned guy said, glaring at the green haired one.

“Mates, mates!” Sips said. “Let’s keep it civil and welcome our new friend, Nanosounds.”

The three turned their heads towards her and she met their gazes with an icy glare.

“Oh.” The green guy said, sneering a bit. “It’s you.”

“Keep it clean Kermit.” Sips warned, Nano raised an eyebrow at the nickname. 

“She’s the best bassist Xephos could find me.” Sips continued. “We need her for this new tour.”

“Need me, eh?” Nano said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. “Well that’s a crying shame, because there’s no way in hell I'm signing with these dick weeds.”

“Do we really need her Trott?” The green one asked the shorter man. “Couldn't we just get a temporary bassist for the tour or something?”

“Contracts come with security, Smith. We're gonna need at least two years out of someone, cause who knows how the bands gonna end up now we've lost one of the best bass players this end of Europe.” Trott drawled. Smith huffed at him.

“Sorry.” Nano said, keeping her face expressionless. “But no.”

“Come on Nano.” Sips said to her. “This is a two year contract with one of the biggest up and coming indie rock bands of this century. Critics love their stuff. You just gotta sign with them now before anyone else does. They're gonna break onto the scene with these next few tracks, and once that happens, who knows where the industry will take them?”

Nano looked around at the three guys, raising her eyebrow at them. They had got off on a bad start, yeah, but she needed to get signed if she wanted to keep paying her mortgage and she had to admit she was already starting to miss the feeling of being on tour. Thinking about it for a moment, she smiled.

“I have some conditions.” She said.

“Great!” Sips rejoiced gleefully. “Just sign these bits of paper first and then we can talk -“

“Wait.” She interrupted, turning to the lads and cracking a grin. “First, I want these tossers to ask me to be in their band. _Politely._ ”

“What?” The dark haired one asked, exchanging glances with the other two. “Why?”

“Oh, no reason.” Nano smiled. “Just do it.”

“No!” Smith declared, crossing his arms angrily.

“Fine.” Nano shrugged. “I guess I'm off then.”

“Wait!” Trott called, stopping her from leaving before turning to the other two. Smith’s face dropped as he saw the shorter man’s expression.

“You can't be serious Trott.”

“Listen, I’ve heard her old band and she’s the best going at the moment. We need a secure bassist. You know that.”

“But still!”

“Just do it.” Trott said through gritted teeth. Smith glared at him for a moment before sighing and giving in.

All three of them looked back to her with frustrated expressions, Nano smiled and raised an eyebrow.

“Well?” She prompted.

“We would very much like you to sign a contract with us.” Trott said, his emotionless voice having an odd strain on it. Nano smiled and moved her gaze onto the dark haired one, she still didn’t know his name.

“It would be cool of you to come on tour with us.” He said, offering her a small smile. Nano shrugged, that was close enough. Grinning, she turned to Smith. The tall man fidgeted under her stare.

“Be in a band with us.” He growled, refusing to look at her.

“What’s the magic word?” She sang sweetly. Smith remained silent until the dark haired man elbowed him in the ribs.

“Please.” He spat out, saying the word like it was poison in his mouth.

“Certainly.” Nano smiled, turning back to Sips. “Where were those papers you wanted me to sign?”

“Here.” He grinned, shoving them in her direction. He offered her a pen and she began signing. Sips watched her as she wrote, making sure she ticked all the right boxes and signed in all the right places. It was gonna be a long two years, but she was making money by doing something she loved, so it couldn't be too bad. Besides, maybe she’d raise enough funds for a one way trip to Thailand.

Eventually, she finished signing, and Sips snatched the forms from her with glee. Nano looked at him suspiciously as he leaned back in his chair, double checking the forms.

“Looks like you're in!” He announced, grinning at her. “Welcome to the band, Nosebleed.”

“Excuse me?” She asked, ignoring the chuckles coming from Smith.

“Everyone gets a designated band nickname.” Sips explained. “So here we have Kermit, Wolfman and Tusk, otherwise known as Smith, Ross and Trott.”

“Right.” Nano said, nodding her head. “And I’m Nosebleed?”

“Nice.” Smith said. Nano glared at him.

“You know Kermit, somewhere out there is a tree producing oxygen so that you can breathe, I think you owe it an apology.”

Sips laughed and Smith scowled at her, she gave him a patronising smile. They glared at each other for a bit.

“Right.” Sips said, clapping his hands together. “That’s enough of that. Now all we need is a band name and we can announce this to the press.”

The room went quiet as they all thought to themselves.

“How about Nanosounds and the three gits?” Nano suggested.

“The three princes and their maid?” Smith proposed.

“The pretty one and the others?” Nano said.

“Wolves and the piglet?”

“The amazing beautiful bass player and the ones at the back who make her look better in comparison?”

“Guys.” Sips said, putting a stop to their squabble. “Serious suggestions please.”

Smith huffed and crossed his arms.

“Yeah Smith, don't strain yourself trying to be creative.” Nano muttered.

“I’m the lyricist you daft cow!”

“Alright!” She cried. “Keep your pants on! Wouldn’t wanna lose those! Who knows when you'll find another jumble sale, tramp.”

“Well you're no fucking lady either.” Smith growled.

“Wait.” Ross said, speaking for the first time since the contract signing. “What about Lady and The Tramps?”

Sips smiled as he thought about it.

“I’m for it.” Nano declared, leaning back in her seat.

“I don't care anymore.” Smith said, his voice sounding tired.

“Tusk?” Sips prompted. Trott just gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Great!” Sips grinned, reaching over to his phone. “I'll let Turps know and he can spread the word to his media outlets. Other than that my job here is done, it’s up to the rest of you to prep for the tour. So for the love of God get the hell out of my office.”

The gang shuffled out of the room, Nano making sure she was in front to avoid any door related incidents. They gathered in the lounge, hovering awkwardly around each other and waiting for the other to say something.

“Well.” Smith said finally, clearing his throat. “Bye.”

He turned and strode from the room, Nano watched him in disbelief. Turning back to the other two, she sighed as Ross shrugged and followed after the taller man. Trott looked at her with a stony expression.

“Here.” He said, handing her his phone. “Put your number in.”

Nano did so, trying to avoid looking at all his personal contacts and messages. She noted how he kept all his apps in nice neat organised boxes before going into his contacts and adding herself. He took it back once she was done.

“I’ll text you meeting information.” He said, she nodded. He turned to walk away before stopping, and looking back at her.

“Smith’s not always a prick.” He said, she raised an eyebrow. “I mean, he is like 90% prick, but sometimes he’s alright.”

Nano didn't respond, she didn't really know how to. Trott shrugged at her and walked off, following in the other two. With them all out of her sight, she released a breath. God, they were tiresome. She sat down on one of the sofas and relaxed into the comfy fabric, needing a sit down after that exchange.

Grinning, she thought about telling Lom over Skype about her escapades. The blonde would laugh, and plot murder with Nano in the most creative ways. She sighed, letting images of the tall woman invade her thoughts. If Monster Hunters had stuck together, maybe she wouldn't be in this mess. If Lom had just stayed in England they could have persuaded Dew to stick with them. There was only one thing to blame really, Nano ground her teeth at the thought.

Veterinary School.


	2. Anyway Here's Wonderwall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Practice sesh number one. Nano finds her company to not be the worst thing in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [the song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xDf-_8KvGM/)   
>  [the lady and the tramps playlist](http://8tracks.com/thanerose/lady-and-the-tramps/)

It was two weeks before Nano heard anything from the Hat Rack boys. Already late into the evening, Nano lazily scrolled the internet with her head propped up on one hand and her eyes slightly drooping. She was on one of her ‘wiki walks’, hopping from one Wikipedia article to another whilst reading about random crap that sparked her interest. Usually, the most interesting articles were about fucked up stuff, but Nano decided not to question it too much.

She was about 20,000 words deep into the early life of serial killer Dr Harold Wenham, when her phone buzzed loudly. Frowning, she put her laptop to one side and reached over for the phone. Unlocking it and opening the text, her eyes widened in surprise.

It was a photo of the darker haired Hat boy, Ross. He was asleep, and Smith was standing over him with a handful of whipped cream, grinning at the camera. Trott had to be taking the photo, as Smith’s other hand was holding Ross’ face. He must be a very heavy sleeper. Nano frowned in confusion, this was not what she expected their first text conversation to be.

Nano’s phone buzzed again as several more images came through. She rolled her eyes, able to guess what was coming next. Yep there it was, Smith laughing wide as he pushed a handful of whipped cream into the side Ross’ unsuspecting face. The dark haired man must have awoken instantly, as his eyes were snapped wide open with a shocked expression.

The next photo was almost unintelligible, a few dark blurs and what Nano thought was Smith’s green hair dancing across the screen. Obviously Ross was awake and angry. The next was a video, and Nano hesitantly pressed play. It was Smith in a headlock, being held by Ross as he struggled and shouted. 

Slowly, and with a gleeful grin, Ross smushed his creamy face into the side of the taller man’s. The disgusted cry of Smith was met by Trott’s loud, genuine laughter, and Nano found herself laughing with him, hand covering her mouth as she surprised herself. The video ended as Ross turned and made a leap towards the cameraman himself, Trott’s startled yelp just making it in at the end.

The last photo came a few moments later, and made Nano smile. It was a selfie taken by Trott of himself and the two others. Ross was in the centre, pulling them together with both arms, one on curled over Trott’s shoulders and grabbing at his shirt to keep him in the photo, the other bunched into the side of Smith’s hair, pushing their heads together. They all had whipped cream on their faces, pressed cheek to cheek so they could all fit into the shot. Smith had his mouth open, probably saying something dumb, looking at Ross. Ross had his eyes screwed shut in laughter, pure joy tugging the sides of his mouth up. Trott was looking directly at the camera, smile wide and beaming.

Nano looked at the photo for a few moments, reveling in the pure happiness it held, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the texts were really meant for her, their intimacy was almost startling. Her questioning was resolved however, as she received the next message from Trott. 

Bristol Emporia Recording Studio. Room 7D. 1pm. Tomorrow.

That sounded more like the emotionless enigma she remembered. Seeing the Hat boys smiling with such intensity was almost… threatening. It was odd, for sure, and she didn’t know what to think of them now. It had been easy to dislike the lads at the start, but this was an entirely new side of them. Something that was so different that it made Nano feel sort of pervasive. Ignoring it, she saved the cute photo of the three of them and locked her phone. 

Rolling over to one side, she felt around on the floor of her bedroom. After having a rummage through the stack of rock and punk magazines by the side of her bed, she pulled out the latest copy of Kerrang! and shifted onto her back. Flipping through the pages, she paused at the article she was looking for. She sighed, and scanned over the text, not liking the fact that she got most of the in depth details about her life from magazine articles nowadays.

The article was pretty presumptuous, which Nano couldn’t really blame it for, they hadn’t really released much to the press other than the name and “rumours” of an upcoming tour. Lady And The Tramps had an established fan base thanks to previous Hat Rack fans, and the label didn’t want to do anything to lose this, otherwise they’d be back to square one. The article made sure to establish the fact that they were still pretty much the same band, just with a new image and a ‘fresher, more current sound’.

Nano snickered at that last part. At the moment, they weren’t anywhere close to a ‘sound’.

Though, apparently, they would start tomorrow. Not like she had anything important planned anyway, of course not. She made a mental note to get Trott to show her his calendar for the next few months, just so she didn’t plan anything that overlapped. Nano was not trusting them to take her plans into account. Pondering plans of organisation, she plodded through her bedtime routine, considering it was fairly late at night, and fell into bed.

As she found out the next morning, she slept restlessly that night, sheets ending up in a tangled mess around her legs. She sighed, and unwrapped herself. Ever since Monster Hunters had spilt, Nano hadn’t been sleeping well. She kept expecting to wake up to the sound of Lom bustling around her room, or Simon working out some lyric harmony in the shower. Instead all she had was no teabags in the cupboard and all the magazine articles she could need, if she ever needed reminding about how well her bandmates, ex-bandmates, were doing without her.

It seemed to take longer than usual to get out of bed that day, and Nano found herself going about her day with an air of presumptuous reluctance. Jeans and a band tee, she decided to go against dressing to impress, as she didn’t want to imply that she cared about any of the Hat boy’s opinions. After a quick lunch, just in case, she headed out towards Bristol.

She had been to Emporia recording studio before, and parking was always a bitch with that place. It took her about twenty minutes to find a space, and by that time the coffee she had picked up on the way over had gone cold. Sighing grumpily, she threw it in the nearest bin, and headed towards reception.

The receptionist was delightfully unhelpful, and Nano had to find her way to room 7D on her own. She thought she knew her way around the place, as she had worked here before, but the building was so big she found herself in entirely new territory. The hallways were long, and reminded her of a large hotel, with twisting passageways and continuing series’ of rooms. However, she still managed to find the studio in time.

The Hat boys were already inside, playing around with instruments. Large and filled with equipment, the studio itself was smart and seemed new. Nano spied a recording booth through a door to the left, and a sound mixer through one next to it. The boys looked up at her with wary eyes but barely seemed to acknowledge her entry. Trott gave her a curt nod, that was about it.

“Morning.” Nano said, eyeing them suspiciously. They ignored her still. 

Placing her bag on the floor and sitting down on one of the rigid chairs, Nano crossed her ankles and put her hands in her lap. Ross looked up, and raised an eyebrow, as if he’d just noticed her presence.

“Did you not bring your bass with you?” He asked, incredulously.

“I thought you’d have one for me.” Nano defended. Seriously, instruments were usually supplied for the band, what was up with these guys?

“Eric took his bass when he left.” Muttered Trott, a bitter tone in his voice. His slender fingers ran along the keys of the keyboard, leaving a soft sound in their wake. Smith looked up from tuning the guitar with a frown, sensing that the comment was somehow directed towards him.

“Well.” Nano said, ignoring the childish tension between them. “What should I do then?” 

“You could learn some of our lyrics I guess.” Ross said, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Grab some headphones.”

Nano quickly grabbed a pair of high tech headphones from the recording booth and plugged them into Ross’ phone while he bought up the band’s first album. He then turned towards Smith with one hand outstretched.

“Smith, the lyric book.” He requested.

Warily, Smith pulled a bound leather book out from the satchel resting against his chair, and handed it to Ross, who gave it to Nano. It was old, for sure, and the pages we’re scribbled on and dog-eared. Nano flicked through them with caution, as many were falling out or hastily stuck back in with cellotape.

“How old is this thing?” Nano wondered aloud.

“Only a year.” Smith replied, and Nano looked up in surprise, him addressing her in a tone that was anything other than angry caught her off guard. 

“Fourth book though.” Ross added, smiling at Smith affectionately. The green haired Hat boy simply looked to the floor, flustered by the praise. Nano raised her eyebrows.

“Impressive.” She said, softly. He shrugged, and turned his attention back to the guitar.

Each of the pages were titled, and were covered in lyrics. Some of the words were scribbled out, or bits added in with a fast scrawl. A few pages were lyrics surrounded by little scribbles, or a series of pen strokes in various colours. 

One of the pages, titled ‘Candy Kisses’, was streaked with peach and saturated orange scribbles, twisting their way around the page and curling around each letter. Another, this one titled ‘Condensation’, looked wrinkled and frayed, as if the page had been very briefly held under a tap and then dried out on a radiator, as Nano had accidentally done herself with one of her Harry Potter books by leaning forward while reading in the bath. She briefly ran her eyes over each page, before matching a song on the phone to a title in the book, and pressing play. 

She had heard their music before, listened to a few of their more popular songs out of vague interest, but this was different somehow. More personal. The hands that were playing out the synth riff in her ear were practicing a soft melody to her left. The drumsticks that were drumming the beat into the back of her skull were tapping out a pattern on the edge of a chair next to her. The voice that was singing a melancholy harmony into her brain was throwing insults across the room with a smirking laugh.

Pulling her feet up to sit cross-legged on the chair, Nano listened intently to the music, bobbing her head along to the fast tracks and swaying slightly to the slower ones. She was vaguely aware of each of the boys watching her in turn, but she instead decided to lose herself in the music, mouthing the words along with Smith’s voice.

A couple of the tracks featured a female voice, and Nano felt more comfortable with these, humming along as the female melody mingled with Smith’s own. Nano recognised the third song featuring a girl, and softly sang along to the bridge, fingers tracing over the words in the book before her. Smith had written the girl’s lyrics in a pastel orange pen in the top left corner of the page, and had slotted them in with the rest of the song with various arrows.

“You’re good.” A voice spoke over the music. Nano paused the music and looked up to see Smith standing over her, twisting a bracelet on his wrist. 

“Uh, thanks.” 

Smith nodded, and grabbed his guitar.

“What do you know?”

“What?”

“We can do some covers.” He explained, sitting down on the floor. “Start matching our voices together.”

“Right.” Nano said, nodding and unplugging herself from the phone. Feeling awkward sitting above his eyeline, she moved down onto the floor next to him. He quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing.

“Something easy?” She asked, a teasing edge to her voice.

“No bar chords if you please.” He replied, dryly.

“Right.” Nano nodded, specifically searching her mind for songs with B minor chords.

While she was thinking, Ross moved to sit on a box opposite her, tapping out a small beat on it with his hands. Trott picked up a small tambourine and sat next to Ross’ leg, resting his shoulder on the other mans calf.

“We’ll join in when we get it.” Smith assured her, and she nodded.

_“You've got these little things_

_That you've been running from_

_You either love them or I guess you don’t.”_

Smith laughed softly as he recognised the lyrics, moving his fingers to the only chord of the song, G major, a bar chord. Smiling, he sung along with her in a sweetly sarcastic tone.

_“You're such a pretty thing_

_To be running from anyone_

_A vision with nowhere to go.”_

Their voices mingled together, and it was good. The timing was a bit rough around the edges and the harmonies could use some work, but there was definitely something there. Ross finally recognised it, and started tapping out the upbeat tune, Trott accompanying him on the tambourine and both of them adding backing vocals during the chorus.

_“I'm ready to go_

_(Get me out of my mind_

_Get me out of my mind)_

_I'm ready to go_

_(Oh oh oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh oh oh)”_

Nano laughed as Ross attempted to beatbox the fast synth chords of the bridge, Smith’s voice accompanying him as the wailing violin. Trott shook the tambourine like his damn life depended on it, and Nano’s voice echoed sweeter with a grin on her lips. They all joined in with the overlaying clusterfuck of lyrics that was the final chorus.

_“I'm ready to go_

_(I think I'm ready I think_

_I know I'm ready I know)_

_(Get me out of my mind_

_Get me out of my mind)_

_(I think I'm ready I think_

_I know I'm ready I know)_

_I'm ready to go_

_(I think I'm ready I think_

_I know I'm ready I know)_

_(Oh oh oh oh oh_

_Oh oh oh oh oh)_

_(I think I'm ready I think_

_I know I'm ready)”_

Smith let the last strum go, and they were all quiet for a moment. Yeah, that had been a good mess of noise, but more surprisingly they were all smiling. Nano’s impression of frustration with the Hat boys had bubbled away, and their resigned apprehension of her had all but melted. They weren't friends, still fairly far from it, but co workers, that they could do. There was a couple more beats of silence before Smith strummed out another chord absent mindedly. 

“So.” He said, cutting the quiet. “Wonderwall?”

“Christ.” Nano mumbled, as Ross broke into what she assumed was a droning impression of Liam Gallagher.


End file.
